Kam Air
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| Founded | August 2003 | |||
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| Operating bases | Kabul International Airport | |||
| Frequent-flyer program | Go Orange | |||
| Fleet size | 8[1] | |||
| Destinations | 11 | |||
| Company slogan | Afghanistan's Global Gateway | |||
| Headquarters | Kabul, Afghanistan | |||
| Key people | Zamari Kamgar (Founder & CEO)[2] | |||
| Website |
www | |||
Kam Air (Persian: کام ایر) is an airline headquartered in Kabul, Afghanistan. It operates scheduled domestic passenger services and regional international services. Kabul International Airport serves as its main hub.[3]
History
The airline was founded on 31 August 2003 by Zamari Kamgar. It was the first privately owned passenger airline in Afghanistan.[4] Its first flight took off on 8 November 2003 on a route from Kabul to Herat and Mazari Sharif, using a Boeing 727. Kam Air's first plane was provided by General Abdul Rashid Dostum as payment for supplying Dostum's private militia with fuel and food.[5]
Kam Air has its headquarters in Kabul, opposite the Embassy of the People's Republic of China.[6] At one time it was located in the Kabul Business Centre in Shahr-e-Naw, Kabul, where a ticket office has operated since 2012.[6][7] Zamari Kamgar is the Chairman and Chief Executive, Farid Peykar the senior Vice President, Timor Shahab the Vice President and Head of Flight Operations, and Parwiz Kamgar the Finance Manager.
Kam Air had announced the launch of European operations commencing in August 2010, with Vienna to receive service, followed by London (Gatwick).[8] However, according to Reuters, both routes were supposedly cancelled by British and Austrian authorities due to aircraft safety issues. Effective 24 November 2010, all Afghan carriers were banned from flying to the European Union because of the country's poor civilian aviation safety record.[9] In 2014, Kam Air was ranked as one of the worlds least safe by AirlineRatings.com.[10]
Destinations
Kam Air serve the following at October 2014;
- Afghanistan
- Bost – Bost Airport
- Kabul – Kabul International Airport (hub)
- Kandahar – Kandahar International Airport
- Herat – Herat International Airport
- Mazar-i-Sharif – Mazar-i-Sharif Airport
- Tarin Kowt – Tarin Kowt Airport
- India
- Tajikistan
- Dushanbe – Dushanbe Airport
- United Arab Emirates
The airline plans to expand its route schedule to include flights to Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey; Baku, Azerbaijan; Baghdad and Najaf, Iraq; and Hangzhou, China. It further is looking to re-introduce its route to Urumqi, China and Moscow, Russia, as well as to add flights to Europe and the United States.
Kam previously served Jalalabad, Kunduz, Faizabad, Maimana, London-Gatwick, Vienna, Peshawar, Islamabad, Mashhad, Tehran, Almaty and Urumqi. The airline currently serves various routes based on greater profitability:[11]
Fleet
Current
The Kam Air fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of October 2014):[12]
| Aircraft | In fleet | Order | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-214 | 1 | 0 | 180 | |
| Antonov An-24RV | 1 | 0 | - | |
| Antonov An-26B | 1 | 0 | Cargo | |
| Boeing 747-200F | 1 | 0 | Cargo | |
| Boeing 767–200 | 1 | 0 | 214 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 1 | 0 | 155 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 2 | 0 | 155 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-87 | 2 | 0 | 130 | |
| Total | 9 | 0 |
Retired
Kam Air previously operated the following aircraft:[13]
- Boeing 737-200
- Boeing 737-300
- Boeing 737-800
- Boeing 767-200ER[14]
- Douglas DC-8-63F[15]
- Yakovlev Yak-40[16]
Incidents and accidents
- On 3 February 2005, Kam Air Flight 904, a Boeing 737-200 operated by Phoenix Aviation, flying from Herat International Airport in western Afghanistan, vanished from radar screens on approach to Kabul International Airport in poor weather. The disappearance sparked a massive ANA search operation for the 96 passengers and 8 crew. The wreckage of the plane was found on 5 February 2005 in the mountains east of Kabul. All 104 people aboard were killed.[17]
- On 9 August 2009, a Kam Air plane bound for the Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport, China was refused permission to land and diverted to Kandahar International Airport, in southern Afghanistan after an earlier alleged bomb threat.[18][19]
- On 11 August 2010, Douglas DC-8-63F YA-VIC suffered a tailstrike on take-off from Manston Airport, United Kingdom, destroying an approach light.[20] The aircraft was operating an international cargo flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina via the Cape Verde Islands. The incident was caused by the aircraft being 25,700 pounds (11,700 kg) overweight due to excess fuel load. After being informed of the mishap, the crew continued to Cape Verde. An inspection there confirmed the tailstrike, though analysis of the strike indicator showed the plane was still safe. The incident was investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, which made various safety recommendations. Kam Air was subsequently banned from operating within the European Union. The three crew involved were also dismissed, and Kam Air announced that it would withdraw its two DC-8s from service.[21]
See also
References
- ↑ Kam Air Fleet
- ↑ About Kam Air
- ↑ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 99.
- ↑ China diverts 'bomb threat' plane. Al Jazeera. August 9, 2009.
- ↑ Portfolio at NYU | Best Of: Lord of the Skies – In war-torn Afghanistan, Zamarai Kamgar has built the only private airline.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Contact Us." Kam Air. Retrieved on 30 January 2012. "Kam Air Head Office Ministry of Foreign Affairs Road Opposit [sic] Chinese Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan" and "Ticketing Office Kabul Business Centre Ground Floor Charahi Haji Yaqoob Kabul, Afghanistan"
- ↑ "Contact Us." at the Wayback Machine (archived May 28, 2009) Kam Air. Retrieved on 23 September 2009. "Kamair Headquarters Address: 1st Floor, Kabul Business Centre Char Rahi Haji Yaqub, Shah-e-Naw Kabul Afghanistan Afghanistan"
- ↑ Article mentions Kam Air Europe flights
- ↑ Article mentions Kam Air's EU suspensions
- ↑ Geoffrey, Thomas. "AirlineRatings.com names the top ten safest airlines". http://www.airlineratings.com/news/201/qantas-the-safest-airline''. Airline Ratings. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
- ↑ Kam Air flight schedule
- ↑ Kam Air fleet at ch-aviation
- ↑ Kam Air fleet history
- ↑ Kam 767-200ER
- ↑ Kam Cargo DC-8F
- ↑ Kam Yak-40
- ↑ Kam Air Flight 904 information
- ↑ Afghan plane to Urumqi lands in Kandahar city. Xinhua. August 9, 2009.
- ↑ China turns back Xinjiang plane. BBC News. August 9, 2009.
- ↑ Hradecky, Simon (12 May 2011). "Report: Kam Air DC86 at Manston on Aug 11th 2010, tail strike on takeoff". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ↑ "YA-VIC". Air Accidents Investigation Branch. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kam Air. |
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